This was my second time on this ship and I loved it just as much as the first!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
The embarkation was SO MUCH EASIER than last year! Last year, we had to wait for 2 HOURS IN THE COLD, this year we were on in less than 10 min.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
I'm not a fan of the new streamlined menus. In the old days of cruising, they had 3 mainstay dishes you could choose from if you didn't like what was offered. This was not the case here, so if you didn't like what was offered, you were out of luck. The Windjammer didn't even open until 15 min. AFTER the Main Dining Room. Plus we had to beg to get a window table, which was clearly marked on our reservation.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
My niece and I had such a fun time on the Bumper Cars! She decided to try Rock Climbing and found out that it was "just ok". We loved the pool areas!
Entertainment
5 out of 5
LOVED IT, my favorite was still "We Will Rock You". We skipped "Spectra's Cabaret", but caught "The Gift". We were not fans of "The Gift" and quite frankly had no clue what was happening. MO5AIC was excellent!
Children's Programs
While we did travel with my 10 year old niece, she decided that she wanted nothing to do with the kids club. She did find other kids outside the club to pal around with.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The Maitre'd was so accommodating when we told him that we didn't have the window table we requested. He even seated us personally every night.
Joff and his Activities Team were awesome, as always. I'm an Activity Director by profession, and while there were some hiccups, they weren't major ones. Twice during this voyage, the Daily Compass and the app didn't match up. The instance with the Daily Compass, we were told that an activity was taking place in a different venue. The other time, the activity wasn't on the schedule at all, but was listed in the app. I get it, it happens, I do it too. A little more attention to detail might help in this case.
That said, there was one "Name That Tune: Boy Bands" where I felt so bad for the Assistant Cruise Director. The laptop with the music wasn't working, and neither were the speakers. As an Activity Director, my heart went out to her when she started crying. I almost felt like hugging her and telling her it was going to be ok, while offering my phone (which has Amazon Music on it) and a BT speaker to at least get us started. Then the Google Volunteer in me wanted to come out and say "Did you do *insert typical troubleshooting steps here*? Let's try this....". Thankfully the tech came down and we were off in no time.
Our steward was fantastic with my niece. He made towel animals every night, and knowing that she loves "Hello Kitty", he made her a "Hello Kitty" out of towels!
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Overall, it was clean, however, after a few days the bathroom started to smell, despite being clean.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
This was our second time in this very cabin and was the perfect size for 4 people!
LOVED it, spent some time in the Oasis Lagoon followed by carrying on a tradition in my family: the Aunt teaching her niece how to snorkel in The Bahamas. We even saw Jeff, the nurse shark that lives near Chill Island!
Thanks for sharing your cruise experience. We board Anthem next month for a third cruise on her and have another one booked later this year. We love sailing on her and the convenience of cruising out of New Jersey rather than flying to Florida. Sounds like you had a nice cruise except for the dining issues. Love seeing the nurse shark at Chill Island. Looking forward to seeing it again!
Appreciate your detailed and informative review. I know you’ve planned this cruise for some time. Glad it turned out well. I can imagine how you wanted to help with the Trivia session. Thanks for sharing.
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